There is no question that marketing as a whole is going through a major paradigm shift. Many long-held principles and practices that worked even five to ten years ago are now quickly becoming outdated as the world around us changes through technology and morphing behavior patterns of consumers.
But having said that, is it possible that the very foundation of modern marketing principles, The Four P’s are now outdated as well? They are, according to Denise Shiffman in her very enlightening book, The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
The Four P’s; Product, Price, Place, and Promotion have been the basis for all marketing strategy for the past 50 years, ever since E. Jerome McCarthy invented them in his 1960 book, Basic Marketing.
It could be argued that each of the Four P’s are in fact still viable as each one still exists albeit in a more complex selling environment. But I do find Shiffman’s proposal of the Six V’s very intriguing, though slightly contrived to make the acrostic memorable. They are:
Venture–the deep integration of product, service and channel of distribution,
Value–Creating inherent “marketingness” through unique, defendable, sustainable and engaging value
Voice–The perception created and the followers gained through vision and story
Verification–Developing credibility through proof, truth and transparency
Vicinity–Harnessing the communities and myriad voices of the live web
Vehicle–Incorporating Marketing 2.0 strategies to attract and delight customers
I’m convinced enough to introduce these guiding principles into my clients’ marketing strategies and will be interested to see how mainstream her Six V’s become in the marketing community.